Super Mario Bros Origins
by FreakinSweet87
Summary: Mario and Luigi are two plumbers who own a failing business until an incident occurs which lands them in another world known as the Mushroom Kingdom. This is the story of their humble beginnings and rise to fame as heroes of both of these worlds.
1. Part 1: Seperate Worlds

Super Mario Bros. Origins

Part 1: Separate Worlds

New York City is one of the most well-known cities in the world. A huge, thriving place where all types of cultures come together. A place where people go to fulfill their dreams of wealth and prosperity. For many, New York City is the big-time. For others, such as the Mario Brothers, things aren't so easy.

Mario and Luigi were two plumbers down on their luck and living in a broken-down apartment in Brooklyn. Their business "Mario Bros. Plumbing" hadn't seen a customer in weeks, and bills were beginning to back up. Their rent had also been due several days ago and they were living off of pizza left over from five days before. For these brothers, the city wasn't a place to make their dreams come true, only to test their ability to survive.

Mario was a short and somewhat stubby Italian man sporting blue overalls and a red cap to match. He also donned a thick mustache and a heavy accent. His brother Luigi was slightly taller than he was, had a deeper tone, and wore the same clothing only colored in green. Each of them also had the first letters of their names imprinted on their hats since many people couldn't remember who was who, and also as a trademark for their failing business. Although they were well-known among the plumbing trade, it just seemed as though toilets and sinks didn't break down as often as they used to.

Luigi sat at the decrepit table reading the local paper while Mario reheated them each the last two slices of pizza. "I really don't know how we're going to last here, Mario," Luigi said with a sigh. "The landlord wants the rent by the end of the week and we've only got a few dollars left. We can't even afford any more food." Mario was silent as his brother worried. He knew Luigi was always the paranoid one, but he also realized that this time he had a good reason to be. Mario walked over to the table with two dishes and sat one in front of Luigi. "Careful," Mario began quietly. Luigi looked up at him and Mario said, "It's hot".

As the brothers finished the remains of their crust, they each let out a heavy sigh. "So let's think about this for a minute," Mario said. Luigi looked up quickly, hoping Mario had his usual plan to get them out of tight situations. "We've got no money, no work, and we're about to be homeless, right?" Luigi nodded. Mario then slumped in his chair, "wow, that sounds a lot worse when you say it out loud". Luigi silently slumped along with his brother as they once again sighed heavily.

Luigi got up and began to walk into the next room. "Mario, I'm going to watch a little TV while we still have electricity. I need to get my mind off of this." He walked off staring at the ground. Mario looked at the table, then around the tiny dilapidated kitchen. He clenched his fists and shut his eyes. "There needs to be some way…" He squeezed his fists tighter and without hesitation slammed them down on the table, cracking one of the legs and forcing in to fall to the ground. Mario was now to the point where he was more angry than worried, but as soon as he was about to get up and start kicking the table the phone rang.

Mario was frozen for a minute as the phone rang several times. He then snapped out of it and ran over and picked it up quicker than he had ever done. "Mario Bros. Plumbing!" He shouted into the phone. There was a young woman on the other end who seemed startled. "I'm sorry, did I call at a bad time?" she asked. Mario jumped, "n-no no! I'm sorry It's just, I-I didn't mean to shout. How can I help you?" The woman began to explain to Mario about a problem she had with her shower drain then gave him the address and his frown immediately turned into a bright smile. "So do you think you can help me?" the woman asked. Mario responded, "we'll be right over!" The woman happily said, "great! See you soon!" then hung up the phone.

Mario quickly hung the receiver up and dashed into the other room to get Luigi (who was still in a state of depression). "Luigi!" Mario shouted. "Get up Luigi! Grab your tools, we have work!"

"Wha-what? Don't play jokes on me, Mario!"

"This isn't a joke! I just got off the phone with a woman who has a clogged shower drain!"

"You get the van started and I'll grab my things!" Luigi jumped out of his chair and the brothers sped off in different directions.

The two hopped in the van, Mario floored the pedal and they were off. After driving a few blocks, Luigi looked at the directions. "Gale Plaza? Pretty ritzy place to be calling us, don't you think, Mario?" Mario looked at Luigi and said, "I couldn't care less if it was a place worse than ours. Work is work." They arrived in the area of the customer's house and were both amazed that they were living in the same city. Gale Plaza was a large community full of exquisite houses. "Maybe you're right, Luigi." Mario said as they pulled up to a beautiful gated mansion.

After ringing to be let in, the gate opened and they parked in front of the house. The woman who called came out to greet them, and was surprisingly young and pretty for the owner of such an amazing home. "Thank you for coming so quickly!" She smiled as she led them upstairs to where the problem was. As they walked through the hall, Mario commented, "this is a beautiful home you have here". Luigi then chimed in, "you'd think you would just buy a new shower every time it clogs up". Mario pushed Luigi silently as they walked behind the woman and gave him a dirty look.

In the bathroom, a tub full of dirty water was the brother's project. "Well, I guess I'll leave you guys to it." The woman said. "Just give me a call if you need anything to drink, okay?" Mario and Luigi smiled as the girl shut the door behind them and left them to begin on the drain.

"Can you believe this, Luigi?" Mario said heavily while he plunged the drain. "All we gotta do is unclog this thing and we'll be paying off our rent in no time!" He continued to use the plunger as he stood knee-high in the water, but it was no use. "Need some help there?" Luigi asked. He jumped into the tub with Mario and they both grabbed onto the plunger, but the water pressure seemed to be getting tighter until they could barely move it. They both began to get sweaty and exhausted.

"Okay, we're gonna have to really pull to get the pressure out, so on the count of three." Mario explained. They both grabbed the plunger again and Mario started to count. "One… two…" They both geared up for one big pull as Mario said, "THREE!" With one final pull the plunger came loose and the drain began to quickly lose the water. They gave each other a high five and began to exit the tub.

It had been a job just like any other, but things took an unexpected turn as the last of the water drained out. Luigi tried to step out of the tub, but was stopped by something. He looked down as his shoe seemed to be getting pulled into the drain. "Uh, Mario?" Luigi said with a shakiness to his voice. Mario saw what was happening and jumped back in to help pull his brother out. "Mario! What's going on?" Luigi yelled as the force pulling him grew stronger. Mario yelled back, "I don't know, just keep pulling!" Mario tried his hardest but couldn't pull his brother back out.

The drain widened as Luigi's body was almost completely inside of it. Mario held his hand as it began to drag both of them in. "M-Mario! Please don't let me go!" Luigi screamed. "Don't worry, Luigi, I got ya!" Mario shouted back to him. With nothing they could do, the drain continued pulling until Mario and Luigi were both sucked down straight into it. As Mario went headfirst into the drain, once his feet were in the drain's pressure began to drop and it reverted back to it's normal size. The bathroom was now quiet, with only the brother's tools left.

The woman came upstairs holding a tray with two glasses on lemonade. She knocked on the door before letting herself in. "I heard a lot of banging up here and figured you were working really hard so I brought you some--" As she opened the door she saw the drain was no longer clogged, but there were no sign of the plumbers. She check around the rest of the house, in every room, and noticed the van still parked in the front of the house.

Now frightened, she did the only thing she could. She picked up the phone and dialed 911. "Hello? I'd like to report two missing people, Could you send someone to Gale Plaza?" As she stood there shaking, she continued answering the operator's questions until the final one. "My name?" she asked. "It's Daisy."

**Author's Note: This is my first fanfiction I've ever written for a site (or planned on continuing for that matter). I figured what better way to start than with a legendary franchise like Super Mario Bros.? I would really appreciate any constructive criticism since I'm new here and have little to no idea what I'm doing. Just please be gentle if you happen to review this. I plan on submitting several parts frequently and I plan to stay true to the original story while adding some of my own twists. Hope you enjoy it!**


	2. Part 2: The Unknown Kingdom

**After finally booking a job, Mario and Luigi set out to what they think is a normal day of work. They arrived at an enormous mansion to find their customer's clogged shower drain was more than just full of hairballs. After fixing the clog, the duo were pulled into the drain by an unknown force, leaving the owner of the house in a state of panic. Where did the two plumbers end up? And how will they get back? The answers lie ahead.**

Part 2: The Unknown Kingdom

Mario's eyes began to open as he laid flat on his back. His vision was fuzzy, but he could make out the clear blue sky above him. He thought to himself for a second and tried to remember what had happened. He tried to stand up and fell to his knees as all of his muscles were sore. Then, after a moment of thought, he recalled the crazy event and the first thing that popped into his mind was, "LUIGI!"

Against his body's injuries, Mario pushed himself to get up and look around. Luigi was nowhere in sight, but instead was a place that was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. Instead of a giant city was a lush, green field of grass. Trees were abundant and nearby was a small pond full of crystal-clear water. All of this seemed fairly normal, until Mario happened to notice a row of strange square blocks floating in midair, each with a question mark imprinted on them.

As Mario continued to explore this new place, it gradually became more and more clear that there was no resemblance to the world he knew. Many odd creatures roamed the landscape, none of which he had ever witnessed before. Small mushroom-shaped creatures waddled sideways with tiny fangs, and turtles stood on their hind legs. All of these creatures were colored very differently than in Mario's world, and some variations of them ever had wings. It was astounding to Mario, yet somehow didn't frighten him.

As amazing as this new world was, Mario was intent on finding his brother. He continued searching around the area until he grew tired and decided to rest underneath a large tree. He sat down and breathed heavily. "We finally get work and something like this has to happen," Mario said to himself. As he once again looked around, something caught his eye on the other side of the tree. He leaned over to check it out and saw Luigi's shoe. He quickly jumped up and poked his head around the other side of the tree to find his brother on his back in a deep sleep.

Mario lifted Luigi so he was sitting up and shook him. "Luigi! Wake up!" Mario shouted. "How do you sleep through something like that? WAKE UP LUIGI!" Luigi jumped out of his sleep and rubbed his eyes. "Mario? Why are you yelling?" Mario shook his head, "we have a problem, Luigi," he began to explain. After Mario helped him up, Luigi took a look around the new place as Mario did, only his reaction was slightly less calming. He began to shake like a leaf in his normal fashion. "M-M-Mario? W-what is this place?" All Mario could do was shrug and shake his head, indicating to his brother that even he had no clue where they were.

It seemed that the two brothers could only move from one predicament to another. If it wasn't a problem in their own world it was being stuck in another that was totally foreign to them. "I guess we better find a way to get back home." Mario got up and said sternly. He started walking away and Luigi hopped up to follow him. "I agree we should try to find a way home but…" Luigi began. "I don't even know how we got here. Normally all drains lead to the sewers, right?" Mario stopped dead in his tracks. "Luigi, you're a genius!" Luigi looked confused until Mario explained his plan. "All we gotta do is find another drain here and maybe it'll send us back home!"

"But where are we gonna find a drain around here?"

Suddenly a faint sound of yelling could be heard over a hill and the two stopped to check it out. On the other side they saw a small mushroom-like man being cornered by the turtle creatures Mario had seen earlier. This mushroom looked different than the other's though, almost human except with a white, fungus-like cap and a vest. Mario spared no time and began to run to the aid of the little man. Luigi, however, stood back and asked Mario, "what are you doing? You don't know what those things are, Mario!"

As Mario approached the mushroom man, three of the turtles surrounded them. Mario jumped in front of him to prevent him from succumbing to any injury. He turned around and said to the little man, "you'd better run, I'll keep them off of you". But the little guy was frozen in awe, so Mario ignored him and focused on the foes. The turtles then began to laugh at Mario. "Look at this guy!"

"Never saw a toadstool like him before."

"Maybe he's one of them sick ones!"

They began to approach Mario, but before they could make any sudden moves Mario ran toward the three of them. He went for the one on the far right of him, then took a huge leap in the air. Both Luigi and the mushroom man stood in awe of how high Mario had gotten. After a few seconds airborne, Mario did a flip in the air and came slamming down on the shell of the turtle, causing him to temporarily recede into it. The other two stood paralyzed in shock, so Mario took the opportunity to back up and get a running start again. He then bolted toward the shell and swiftly kicked it toward the remaining turtles, making them all recede into their shells and go spinning over the hills.

Now that the threat was gone, Luigi ran over to Mario to check on the little mushroom. Mario was concerned about his well-being, but Luigi was more astounded by the feats his brother just performed. "Mario!" Luigi proclaimed. "How did you do that?" Mario tried to speak, but couldn't find a good enough explanation. "I guess," Mario started, "I really have no idea how I did any of it". The two plumbers went over to the mushroom who was still slightly shocked by the whole ordeal. "Are you okay, little guy?" Mario asked him. The little man kept his head down, but spoke one word, "Toad". Mario and Luigi looked at each other, then Luigi asked, "what was that?"

"My name, it's Toad," he said once again. "Thank you so much for all your help Mr.…. Mario, was it?"

After a brief introduction, the duo explained their situation to Toad, who, in return, told them all about the world they were in. The brothers both jumped and together said, "THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM?" It didn't seem real, but this world existed as much as Brooklyn did. However, Toad didn't know they could have gotten there by the means they did. It had seemed that if Mario's drain theory failed they would be stuck there. But Toad seemed less concerned with them leaving than he did thanking them for rescuing him. "I want to show you my gratitude! Please come with me so I can thank you properly." Toad began to run and Mario and Luigi followed behind him.

Before long, the group arrived at an enormous castle, and immediately the plumber's jaws dropped. Luigi spouted, "is it me or does everyone seem to be living better than us, Mario?" Toad beckoned them over the castle's bridge and to the front doors. As they entered the foyer, Toad graciously asked them to wait there for a minute until he returned. He ran up the stairs directly in front of them and disappeared down one of the halls. Mario and Luigi took this opportunity to look over the castle. There were two more staircases on both sides of the foyer leading to the same place Toad went. There were also doors on nearly every end of the room and artwork hanging on the walls. It was truly a beautiful castle.

Luigi nudges Mario with his should and said, "maybe this job didn't turn out so bad after all. I bet whoever lives here is loaded!"

"They can definitely pay they're rent, Luigi." Suddenly, Toad came running back down the stairs, panted a few times, then began to speak. "Mario, Luigi, I would like to introduce you to someone very important to our people." Then, at the top of the stairs came a woman wearing a pink dress and a golden crown. She quietly walked down the steps toward the brothers and when she nearly reached the bottom Toad continued. "May I present to you, the ruler of our Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Toadstool!" Mario and Luigi had no idea what to say, so they chose nothing.

The princess was a beautiful, blonde woman who radiated elegance as she stood before them. She put her hands on her dress and curtseyed to Mario, then Luigi. She then spoke for the first time. "Toad, there's no need to be so formal. It's not every day we have guests who aren't from our kingdom." She turned toward Mario and Luigi again and said, "you may call me… Peach." Mario bowed slightly, not completely sure he was being proper. Luigi followed after his brother, both of them looking fairly awkward. Peach went on to thank them for helping Toad. "I'd love to have you stay for dinner as a way of thanking you for all of your help. Toad does a good job as one of my guards, but he tends to get himself into more trouble when I'm not around." The princess laughed.

Mario replied to the princesses' kindness for both him and Luigi. "We'd love to stay for dinner, Your Highness. Thank you." She giggled and said, "please, my people call me Peach. I don't like to see myself as any higher than my subjects in this kingdom. She continued with some information that made Mario and Luigi even happier than the hot meal they were promised. "Toad has also told me of your problem regarding returning home. I'm going to try everything in my power to see that the two of you get back safely."

"Wow, really? Thank you Ms. Peach!" Luigi exclaimed. Peach laughed at the two awkward plumbers standing before her, as like Mario and Luigi in her world, she had never met anyone like them.

The group headed toward the dining room to eat, but something was on Mario's mind. Luigi noticed, but didn't say a word as the princess gave them a small tour on the way. Mario could barely concentrate as she showed them more and more of the castle. His mind was set on one thing, returning home. Luigi tried his best to make Mario look at the bright side as he quietly bent over and whispered in his ear. "At least we won't be eating week-old pizza tonight." Mario's thoughts immediately returned to their dilapidated apartment, days without food, and no work or money. Suddenly the Mushroom Kingdom didn't seem so bad. Mario looked up at his brother as the entered the dining room… and he smiled.

**Author's Note: So, ya likin' it so far? I've had some positive feedback which made me very happy. So to be fair, I'm going to put some extra work into the rest of this story since people are taking the time to review it. I'm really having a great time writing this because I love the series and I get to explore new ways to look at the world the characters inhabit. Thanks to everyone who has already reviewed this work in progress, and thanks in advance to anyone who plans to review it in the future. Peace!**


	3. Part 3: No Way Home?

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After arriving in the strange world of the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and Luigi found themselves trying to come up with a plan to return home. Along the way, Mario realized an unknown potential inside of him when attempting to rescue a citizen of the kingdom named Toad from a group of turtle-creatures. Mario had an unusual ability to jump great heights. It also turned out that Toad was a guard for the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom and she might be able to help them get back to Brooklyn. But first, as a way of thanks from Princess Peach, the brothers were in for a great meal...

Part 3: No Way Home?

The dining room doors opened to reveal a feast which Mario and Luigi had previously only been able to dream about. There was a long table full of lobster, salads, turkey, and even pasta. What made the welcome even warmer was the lack of old pizza, or any for that matter. The food went on beyond their line of site until they couldn't make out the dishes further down. Luigi exclaimed, "how could you ever eat all of this yourself, Ms. Peach?" Peach laughed, "don't be silly. I had this meal prepared for you after you helped Toad. I don't eat this much myself!"

Mario, Luigi, Toad and Peach all sat down on the same end of the long table. Peach smiled and said "please, help yourselves". The brothers looked at each other, grinned, then began to dig in as if royalty were no longer dining with them. "They must've been starving, Your Majesty!" Toad laughed. The four continued their meal, sharing stories of both worlds and getting to know one another. Once dinner was over, Mario and Luigi both slouched in their chairs with full stomachs, unable to move. Peach smiled, "did you enjoy the meal?" She saw two hands rise and give a thumbs up.

"Now then," Peach began. After leading the plumbers to the castles library, she opened a large book called "The Guide to Power Stars" which sat on a big podium. Peach spoke as she skimmed through the pages. "I may not know much about other worlds, but if anything will help you get back home it's this book."

"What exactly is a Power Star?" Mario asked. Peach got ready to explain, but was cut off by the sound of a throat being cleared in the doorway. There stood another little mushroom man, only he was much older with a thick white mustache and a cane. "If you needed a tutorial on Power Stars you should have known to call on me, Princess." The tiny man walked over to the group. "Oh, Toadsworth!" Peach said happily. "I didn't want to bother you so I figured I'd try these books on my own."

"Now, now, Princess, you know that's why I'm here!"

Toadsworth acted as the Princesses' advisor, but also cared for her since she was a child. He was like a father and as close a friend as the others. Peach started to explain the situation to Toadsworth without skipping on any details. "This is Mario and Luigi. They somehow ended up in our world from their own in… where did you say it was again?" Mario answered, "Brooklyn, well, New York City to be exact". They went on to explain about the incident and how Mario thought the drain pipes may lead the same way they came in. Unfortunately, Toadsworth immediately concluded it as an impossibility.

"I'm sorry, boys," Toadsworth said with a sigh. "In our world we have a method of traveling between one another, and that's by Power Star. It would seem that in your world that drain pipe was probably one of many portals used to bridge the gap between our world. In other words, there are several methods to get here, but only one to get back. And unfortunately I haven't seen a Power Star in ages." Peach was in deep thought for a bit before revealing one final hope for the brother's return. "Toadsworth," she said. "If it's all the same, I'd like to use my own Power Star to help them return home." Toadsworth jumped at the fact that he'd forgotten the princess had a star from when she was a baby. "Princess, that star is an heirloom to your family," Toadsworth pleaded. "In all good consciousness I can't let you use that star. There are others, it's just a matter of finding them!"

Whatever hopes Mario and Luigi had of returning home fluctuated between bright and dim. With a Power Star being their only means of return, it seemed they would have to get used to the Mushroom Kingdom for a while. "Peach," Mario said quietly. "Don't use your Power Star. We'll come up with another way." Luigi nodded his head, "yeah, you've already done enough with that great meal!" The princess smiled and said, "thank you. That star means a lot to me, but I also know that getting home means a lot to you". Mario mumbled to himself, "if she only knew what it was like back home".

With night quickly approaching, the brothers were offered one of the castles spare rooms to stay in until they found a way to solve their problem. Peach told them, "you're welcome here as long as you like". The room was enormous, but had only one bed for them to share. As they laid in bed, Mario and Luigi stared straight up at the ceiling. "It's funny, isn't it?" Luigi said quietly. "What's funny?" Mario asked. Luigi went on, "one minute we're in a run-down apartment, the next we're in a giant castle owned by a beautiful princess".

"Yeah, fate deals you some wilds cards, I guess."

"To tell you the truth though, Mario, I kinda like this place. It's weird and all, but it seems like we fit in better here than at home. Am I right? Mario?" Luigi turned to his brother who had already dozed off. He sighed and said, "g'night Mario.

Morning rolled around quickly and the silence was quickly broken by the sound of an alarming crash downstairs. Mario speedily jumped up, but the crash didn't phase Luigi who was still out cold. Mario ran down the steps to see another one of the turtle-like creatures he saved Toad from. Only this one had wings, a pair of goggles, and carried a bag on his shoulder. It appeared that he crash-landed through the door and fell over inside the castle. Mario's first thought was that he didn't look as menacing, but he still approached him slowly. The turtle got up and began to apologize for the inconvenience. "I'm s-so s-sorry sir! M-my name is Parakarry, the princesses' Koopa mail carrier." He looked as nervous as Luigi. "Please don't tell the princess this happened!" Mario said, "don't worry, your secret's safe with me".

Parakarry thought for a second, then remembered the delivery her had. "Would you mind giving princess Peach this letter? I'm already kinda late for my next delivery." Mario took the letter and Parakarry's wings began to flap. "Thanks a lot Mr.…?"

"Mario."

"Mr. Mario! I appreciate it! S'long!" Mario looked at the letter, which had the return address of another place he had never heard of. "Sarasaland…?" He thought again about what Parakarry had said, "Koopa?" The Mushroom Kingdom kept getting weirder and weirder.

Mario ran up the stairs to find the princess until he noticed her outside on a balcony. She was staring at the sky and looking very peaceful. Mario wasn't used to this type of behavior since the city was always full of rude people who never had a moment to be calm. "Princess Peach?" Mario said quietly. The princess turned to him and said, "oh, good morning, Mario!" He held out the letter to her and she took it from him. "What's this?" Peach asked. Mario responded, "you're mailman brought this and asked me to give it to you". Peach looked at the letter and noticed where it was from. "Oh! It's from the princess of Sarasaland. I wonder why she sent me a letter all of a sudden."

As Peach began to open the envelope, the sky started to darken. Mario looked up, "this world really has some crazy weather patterns compared to ours. One minute the sky is blue, the next it's dark out". Peach looked up with a worried look on her face. "Mario, that's not supposed to happen." The two looked at each other for a moment, then started to tumble over as the entire castle rumbled beneath their feet. Peach nearly fell over, but Mario caught her before she was hurt. They hung on to the railing of the balcony and Mario said , "I guess earthquakes aren't the usual pattern either then?"

The rumbling began to subside when down from the sky came an airship twice as big as Peach's castle. Mario and Peach looked up as the ship began to turn toward them. Peach, put her hands together, "please… not now!" Mario looked at her with confusion. A silence fell over the land as a large silhouette loomed out onto the bow of the ship. A gruff, raspy voice rang out, "Princess Peach!" The silhouette cleared, revealing a creature far more fierce than any Mario had seen in the Mushroom Kingdom before. It was a large, yellowish dragon-like creature with an enormous green turtle shell covered in spikes. It had fire-red hair and razor sharp claws as well.

Peach shouted to the creature, "I told you I'm not going to accept this, Bowser! I refuse to let my kingdom be taken over by a heartless monster like you!" Bowser looked down at the princess and noticed Mario beside her. He began to speak. "I've already considered your side of the situation, princess. I admire your bravery." Suddenly, Bowser took a giant leap and headed toward the balcony. Peach and Mario dispersed to not be crushed by the monster. As he landed, Bowser cracked the balcony from his weight. He turned toward Peach and grinned. "I hate to be the one to tell you, but I don't give a damn about bravery."

Bowser turned away from peach and now focused on Mario. Mario stared into his eyes, glaring at him. "What are you lookin' at?" Bowser said angrily. All Mario could do was glare. Bowser once again turned to Peach and said, "you've been very unreasonable Your Majesty". He walked toward her and reached out to grab her. Mario did what he could and ran toward Bowser's back. Unfortunately, Bowser turned quickly and swiped his claws at Mario, cutting his cheek and sending him flying back into the railing. Peach yelled, "MARIO!"

Bowser grabbed the frightened princess. "If you don't want to hand over your kingdom to me I'll have to take a consolation prize." With Peach on his shoulder, Bowser turned to Mario and said, "tell them what you saw here". With blurry vision, Mario saw Bowser leap back onto the airship, and he tried to get up. His head ached like never before. As he saw Bowser disappear from sight with Peach, he noticed the balcony was nearly destroyed from all the damage done to it. Now the ship's canons opened up and prepared to fire at the castle if Mario made a move. The airship still floated in front of him, so he gathered all of his strength and took one big leap off the balcony to try to grab onto the ship.

As Mario soared through the air, the canons shot out giant bullets with eyes and sharp teeth. Mario managed to land on one, the jump off of it, causing it to aim downward and destroy the balcony. The immense explosion behind him pushed Mario closer to the ship. With one more reach, he grabbed on to the ledge of the airship, holding on by one hand. He tried to get up, but was too weak from being hit. Just then, Bowser appeared in front of where Mario was hanging on. He looked down at Mario's attempt and laughed.

Bowser then reached down and grabbed Mario's hand, pulling him up and holding the tiny bruised plumber by the arm in front of him to get a good look. Blood ran down Mario's cheek from the wound. "I see you aren't from around here," Bowser said. He clenched Mario's arm tighter. "I'll be nice and tell you that I don't appreciate people messing with my plans. Consider that a warning." The ship raised higher and higher as Bowser held Mario over the edge. "Now be a good boy and do as I said and I won't have to kill you." Mario was weak from injury, but he still clenched his free fist and took one swing as a last resort. The punch landed square in Bowser's face, causing him to toss Mario overboard and grab his head from the pain.

Fire shot out from Bowser's mouth as his rage grew, but Mario was already on a crash course with the ground below. Bowser watched Mario fall hundreds of feet until he could no longer see him through the clouds. He held the side of his face and mumbled, "damn you". He then gave the signal to his troops and the airship sped off out of sight.

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Author's Note: Aww yeah! Now things are starting to pick up! I finally get to write about something action-packed, with maybe some cursing and bloodshed... Wait, I already did that! Well don't worry, it won't get too bad. I'm sticking to the straight facts, but I wanted to make Bowser a bit more bad-ass than he is in the games. Let me know if you like the change, and hope you're enjoying it so far. Expect the 4th parth very shortly! I'm out!


	4. Part 4: Hope In a Tiny Package

**After partaking in the kindness of Princess Peach, Mario and Luigi had a chance to live luxuriously, if only for a short time. But once again their worries returned in the form of a ferocious new foe by the name of Bowser, king of the Koopas. With a task of his own, Bowser captured Peach, severely injuring Mario as he made a futile attempt to rescue her. However, Mario refused to give up and tried to catch Bowser's airship before it got away. Barely able to sustain his injuries, Mario was quickly tossed overboard, but not before giving Bowser a nice going away present in the form of a swollen face. Now with Peach gone and Mario falling to certain doom, how does the kingdom stand any chance?**

Part 4: Hope In a Tiny Package

The clouds looming over the Mushroom Kingdom began to disperse as the airship carrying it's beloved princess disappeared into the sky. Everything was now as bright and normal as ever. However, the cheery scenery didn't deter the fact that a heroic plumber still plummeted quickly downward to the ground below. Mario spun uncontrollably as he fell, trying to kick his legs in the opposite direction to gain some momentum. He knew there was nothing else he could do, and he would be hitting the ground no matter what he tried.

Nearly at the end of his fall, Mario prepared himself to accept the impact. He braced and closed his eyes, not noticing his brother on the ground below him. Luigi ran to where Mario was about to land and tried to position himself under him so he could catch him or at least break his fall. Mario fell at an angle where Luigi could reach out and grab him as if catching a football, so he moved around until he saw where Mario would be landing. Mario came down hard as Luigi grabbed him from the sky, and the force pushed Luigi backward over a dozen feet. A long line of tracks were being made by the soles of Luigi's feet in the dirt as they moved backward until they hit a buried rock and tripped him. The two brothers both flipped and rolled along the grass and mud until the momentum stopped and they both laid flat on their backs.

Luigi quickly jumped up and crawled over to his brother who was now unconscious. He put his ear against Mario's chest and heard his heart racing. He noticed the claw marks on Mario's cheek, then looked at his own overalls to notice they were stained with it. Without trying to wake Mario up, Luigi picked him up and ran inside the castle to get help. After finding Toadsworth, they put him in bed to let him recover from his injuries.

Luigi and Toadsworth stood outside of Mario's room as Luigi questioned what had just occurred. "I don't know what happened out there," he said. He peered into the door to see his brother resting peacefully in the bed. "But Mario is really hurt. I woke up from the sound of that explosion and I ran outside just in time to catch him. What was that all about?" Toadsworth sighed, then began to explain.

"Bowser is the king of the Koopas, which are those turtles you and your brother encountered when you first arrived here. He has been harassing the princess to relinquish the castle and the kingdom to him for a bit now. However, Princess Peach knew his intentions and refused time and time again. I suppose he got fed up with her constant refusals and made the first move himself. I can't help but feel responsible for not keeping a closer eye on Her Majesty."

"There was nothing any of us could do. If there was, I would have been out there to help my brother."

As Mario remained unconscious, the princess had her own troubles as a prisoner of Bowser in his own castle. She was put in a dank cell with a single bed, far off from her usual royal treatment. She sat on the edge of the bed with her head hanging down and tears in her eyes. Her crown sat next to her as she felt she shouldn't wear it since she failed her kingdom. The sound of a door creaking open and closed was heard down the hall, so Peach jumped up and ran to the bars to see who was there. Down the corridor walked a small Koopa dressed in a long robe with red glasses and a scepter. "My, my, my," she said. "It's good to finally have you over for a visit, Your Majesty."

Kammy Koopa, Bowser's answer to Peach's Toadsworth, was a Magikoopa who oversaw all of Bowser's plans and made them a reality. She had the ability to wield a powerful magic and an ill-temper to go along with it. Peach trembled, "why are you doing this? Why does Bowser desire my kingdom so badly?" Kammy replied, "the Mushroom Kingdom? You think King Bowser would honestly worry so deeply about ruling over such a pathetic little burg?"

"If not then what is this all about?"

"In due time, my dear. Now make sure you're ready."

"For what?"

"Bowser wants you at the dinner table by eight o' clock sharp!"

Kammy laughed as she waved her scepter and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Peach held onto the bars of the cell to try to keep her composure. However, her hands began to shake and she fell to her knees and started to sob. Her fists slammed the ground as her tears ran off her cheek and onto the concrete below her. "Damn you, Bowser…" Peach said in between short breaths. "I'll never hand over my kingdom to you, you bastard." The princess crawled to the bed and laid face down on it.

After several hours, Luigi began to fall asleep while sitting in the chair next to Mario's bed. Mario hadn't moved much other than making a few faces, most likely from the pain. Luigi sat slouched with his head bobbing back and forth as he dozed. As he finally passed out, Luigi's head slumped backward and his mouth hung open. At that precise moment, Mario's eyes began to slowly open. When his vision cleared, he saw he was back in the castle, and noticed Luigi sitting by him. "Luigi…" Mario said quietly to not wake his brother up. He slowly got up from the bed, limping to the door. He turned away to Luigi once more and said, "thanks brother".

The Mushroom Kingdom was covered by the night's unrelenting presence again as Mario made his way down the steps and out the doors of the castle. The pain was excruciating as he tried to walk, and after a few minutes he could take much more of it. His legs started to give out, so he sat down for a minute. "Oh, who am I kidding?" Mario said to himself. "I have no clue what I'm doing! I can't rescue her when I can't even stand up under my own power!" Frustrated, Mario laid on his back and stared up into the sky. "At least you can see the stars here, not like Brooklyn."

As Mario watched the sky, he thought of what he could have done to save Peach. He went over all the steps he should have taken and started to get angry at himself. But after a while he thought about her kindness and how she would never blame him for something like that. He could almost see her face in the stars. It's as if he was a kid again looking up at the same sky. "Maybe with place isn't so different after all. It may seem strange down here, but up there it looks the same as back home." Things looked pretty bleak at that moment. With Mario barely able to move, it seemed as though it would take a while before being able to do anything to rescue Peach.

The night's silence was suddenly broken by the tiny sound of squeaky footsteps. Mario stayed quiet to try and hear them again, but after a second or two they stopped completely. He ignored them and went back to looking at the sky and trying to think. Just then, a small voice could be heard that said, "hey Mister. Why are ya laying on the ground like that?" Mario looked around but couldn't find where the voice was coming from. "Over here!" The tiny voice said again. Mario looked left and right but saw nothing, but after tilting his head backward he saw one of the short stubby mushroom creatures from upside down .

The tiny, bright-eyed creature was obviously a girl due to her pink shoes and feminine voice. She also wore a pair of pink goggles on her forehead. She looked up at Mario with a puzzled expression. "Are you okay, Mister?" Mario smiled slightly and responded, "yeah. I'm just confused, that's all".

"Is that why you're outside? My dad says if you don't get enough fresh air your brain won't work right. What's your name? Mine's Goombara! I'm a Goomba like my mother, and father, and grandpa! I like your mustache!" The little girl talked a mile a minute with a slight lisp as Mario tried to get a word in. He then put his finger to her lip to quiet her down for a second. "Listen," he said. "It's really dark out. Shouldn't you be home with your family?"

"No, it's okay, I'm five years old now! I can take care of myself!"

Mario didn't really know what to do with Goombara. She seemed just like the type of little girl from his own world, the kind who wanders off to get lost and befriend a stranger. Yet, he saw the goodness of the Mushroom Kingdom in her eyes. "So what's your name?" Goombara asked. Mario introduced himself, but it was perfectly clear he couldn't move to well from his injuries and she noticed it right away. "You look sick!" She said. Mario didn't say anything in response. Goombara went on to say, "if you're not feeling good you should try a mushroom! They always make me feel better". Goombas didn't have hands, but she gestured over to the blocks Mario had seen suspended in the air when he first got to the kingdom.

Mario looked over at the blocks with the question marks then back at Goombara. "Mushrooms come out of those blocks?"

"Yep! But they're special mushrooms that make you feel not sick anymore! Just hit the blocks and some of them have mushrooms!" Mario got up and walked to the row of blocks with Goombara following behind him. He looked up at them and said, "just hit them underneath?" Goombara nodded. Mario gathered what little strength he had and punched the underside of one of the blocks with his fist, shattering it. With luck, a tiny red mushroom popped out on the first try. Mario picked it up and examined it. "Try it! They're good!" Goombara exclaimed happily. Mario was hesitant, but knew it was the only other thing he could do to save Peach.

As Mario stared at the mushroom for a bit, he finally put aside his doubts and ate it. Goombara anticipated Mario's reaction and leaned closer. They were both very quiet for a bit, then suddenly, Mario fell to his knees. "MISTER MARIO!" Goombara screamed. "I'm sorry! Mushrooms usually make me feel better. Maybe they're only good for Goombas!" Just then, Mario leaped to his feet, bent down, and jumped high into the air. Goombara watched as he soared higher than the trees, then came down as easily as he'd gone up. Mario turned toward her and said, "Thank you. You're a pretty good doctor!" Goombara smiled, then blushed a little.

After telling the little Goomba of the situation involving the princesses' capture, Goombara raced home to warn her parents to pass the word along to the rest of the kingdom. Mario, on the other hand, ran back inside the castle to get his brother.

Luigi was still sound asleep in the chair, now drooling a bit. Mario wasted no time in waking him up to plan their rescue. Luigi awoke and smacked his lips a few times. "Mario? You should still be resting," Luigi said concernedly. Mario shook his head. "We don't have time to sleep, Luigi! It's time to get the princess back here, her kingdom needs her." Luigi took notice of Mario's wounds being completely healed but didn't question it. Stranger things had occurred since they arrived, so naturally nothing was out of the ordinary anymore.

"Listen, Mario." Luigi went on. "I understand you want to save Princess Peach, but we can't go rushing into things. We don't know what we're up against yet. You saw how badly you were injured!"

"I know Luigi. But that's why I came to get you. I wouldn't do this without my brother!" Luigi shook under the pressure, but knew Mario meant well. Even though bravery was not his strong point, he agreed to help Mario in his time of need.

Dawn had just broken and the sun started to rise. Mario and Luigi spoke to Toadsworth about Bowser's whereabouts and geared up for the journey ahead. As they stood outside on the castle's bridge, they looked forward into the distance of the Mushroom Kingdom. They each took a deep breath and looked at each other. "You ready?" Mario asked. Luigi smiled, "I'm with you, brother!" They gave each other a high five and began to run until they could no longer be seen from the castle.

**Author's Note: Before I start getting a bunch of questions about her, yes, I DID create Goombara. No there is no relation to Goombario or Goombella from the Paper Mario series. She's my little creation! I told ya I'd add a few twists. Let me know if you like her and maybe she'll come up in some more parts! Don't worry, though, there's plenty more favorites that will be popping up as we go along. And don't think it's over yet, cause a lot is about to go down in the next few parts. See ya in part 5!**


	5. Part 5: The Fate of Peach's People

**With a quick save by Luigi, Mario survived a fall from Bowser's airship and lived to see another day. Unfortunately, Mario was badly wounded from Bowser and remained unconscious as Luigi kept a close eye on him. After awakening, Mario attempted to sneak out and rescue Peach himself, but couldn't sustain his injuries and barely made it out of the castle. As he contemplated a plan, he happened upon a tiny, female Goomba named Goombara who introduced him to a mushroom that instantly healed and rejuvinated him. Mario had Goombara tell her family and the rest of the kingdom of Peach's kidnapping and rushed off to get Luigi so they could try and rescue her. With the tiny ray of hope, the plumbers began a journey that may turn out to be more difficult than they had thought.**

Part 5: The Fate of Peach's People

Kammy walked down the hall toward Princess Peach's cell. She peered through the bars to see Peach, still face down into the cot they gave her to sleep on. She knocked on the bars with her scepter to get Peach's attention. "Wake up!" Kammy yelled. Peach rolled over and rubbed her eyes. Kammy went on "you were quite rude to King Bowser at dinner last night".

"I had no desire to dine with that monster!"

"Well, had you been more civilized you would have heard his proposal. However since you decided to be so cold to His Majesty you'll now be escorted in chains to his throne room to hear it!" Kammy waved her scepter and a spiked collar appeared around Peach's neck, along with a long chain which Kammy held like a leash.

Kammy floated pulling Peach along as she resisted. "You know," Kammy said struggling, "it would be less stressful to just accept this". Peach just glared at her as they slowly made their way down the corridor to the throne room. Bowser waited patiently for Peach's arrival. As the two entered the room, Kammy dragged Peach to the center to stand in front of Bowser on his throne. Bowser and Peach traded stares back and forth before he opened by welcoming her out of her cell once again.

"Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom. How the mighty have fallen." Bowser laughed loudly. "Now that I know I have your full attention, perhaps you'd like to hear my little proposal. I think you'll find it quite beneficial to both yourself and your people."

"Know this, Bowser, nothing you can say can make me turn my back on the people of my kingdom! You can propose anything you like, but I'll never agree to anything."

"Well then, I suppose there is nothing I can do to change your mind. Unless, of course, I told you your kingdom would be in greater danger if you didn't accept." Peach looked at Bowser, confused by his statement.

Bowser arose from his throne and walked over to Peach, who was still being held by Kammy's chain. He bent over to look into her eyes, and her hatred turned to a cold fear. He put one of his claws beneath her chin . Then Bowser said the phrase Peach had never expected to hear, "marry me and I won't kill them all". Peach jumped back in shock. "Y-you? Are you serious? That was your 'proposal'?"

"You seem a bit surprised, which I expected. But I figured if you won't hand over your kingdom we'll rule it together!"

"This is sick! What led you to believe I'd ever marry a monster like you?"

"Regardless, you have very little choice. Unless you happen to find my backup proposal more to your liking."

Peach was hesitant, but nothing could be worse than having to marry Bowser, at least she thought. She quietly listened to Bowser's alternate proposal. "If you don't agree to marry me… I want that plumber instead!"

"M-Mario? Why him?"

"It's not your place to worry about why I want him! I could tell by the look on his face he'd try to come and save you. And I know very well that fall wouldn't do him in. But once he gets here I want you to tell him not to fight!" Peach looked smugly at Bowser and said, "why? Are you afraid of losing to him?" Bowser just laughed and replied, "I'm more afraid of my ship being able to escape the blast when I destroy your entire kingdom should he choose to fight". Bowser held up a remote control with two red buttons, and Peach's eyes widened.

While Peach managed problems on her end, Mario and Luigi raced toward Bowser's castle, unknowingly putting the rest of the kingdom in jeopardy. They stopped for a second to catch their breath and look at the directions Toadsworth had written for them. "Look at these directions, Mario!" Luigi laughed. "Check out this perfect handwriting." He showed Mario the directions that had nearly flawless cursive. They both had a good laugh, then took a rest beneath a tree to get some shade.

Luigi set down the backpack he grabbed before they left and asked Mario, "ya hungry?" Mario replied, "not yet, but I think we should save any food until we get closer". Luigi disappointedly put the backpack down and pushed it away so he wouldn't think about the food inside. His stomach rumbled loudly, but he tried to ignore it.

"Let's see here," Luigi said looking at the directions. "If we continue forward we should be seeing the castle soon. It says that it's up on a big hill and we can't miss it." Mario stared at the ground as Luigi went on. He clenched his fists while thinking about Bowser keeping Peach captive. "Luigi," Mario said. "I forgot to thank you for saving me before."

"It was no big deal."

"Of course it was! If you hadn't been there I wouldn't even be here right now."

"Well I wasn't about to let you fall, brother." The two bumped fists and sat back against the tree.

After a few minutes of relaxation it was back on the road. The brothers got a good chance to take in all the splendor the Mushroom Kingdom had to offer. It was almost as if they were visiting a zoo with all the different creatures they saw. Near the waters they saw a white squid-looking animal and roaming the fields were yellow caterpillar-type ones. Compared to the animals back home, Mario and Luigi were amazed by the different inhabitants of the kingdom.

The two journeyed on until they finally went on as far as they could go. The rest of the way was blocked by a huge piece of land jutting out from the ground. It went up further that the brothers could see. "Luigi!" Mario cried out, "I thought you said the castle would be here sitting on a hill". Luigi fumbled with the directions then read them again. He showed them to Mario and pointed at what Toadsworth had written. "It says right here 'can't miss the castle on the hill' but there isn't even a hill around here. All I see is this huge mountain!" Mario looked up and squinted his eyes, and at the top of the mountain he could make out exactly what they were looking for. "Umm, Luigi?" Mario got Luigi's attention, then pointed upward. Bowser's castle was at the very tip of the mountain. Luigi's mouth hung open, "THIS is a hill? He considers THIS to be a HILL?"

There was no way around it. To get to Peach they would have to make their way up the steep slope. They began their ascent and tried to climb as quickly as possible. After several minutes, Luigi began to get exhausted from carrying the backpack full of food. Mario chimed in, "I doubt we'll even have time to eat so maybe you should leave it here". Luigi looked back and said, "I guess you're right". He took off the pack and got ready to drop it when suddenly, a tiny muffled voice was heard that exclaimed, "wait a second!"

Mario and Luigi looked strangely at each other, then Luigi slowly unzipped his backpack to reveal… "Goombara?" Mario jumped in surprise. Luigi looked at Mario and asked, "you two know each other?"

"Goombara, how did you get in Luigi's pack?" Mario asked. Goombara rolled her eyes innocently and said, "I kinda snuck in when you guys left the castle". Mario sighed, "you should have known better! It's dangerous for you to be away from home like this!" Goombara jumped, "but I wanted to help you save Princess Peach!" Luigi interjected, "we might as well take her with us, Mario". Mario was hesitant, but agreed they couldn't go all the way back just to return her home.

As the trio made for the top, Goombara sat atop Luigi's hat as he struggled with the same amount of weight as he had in the backpack. "Mario," Luigi said, "why am I the one she has to ride on?" Mario replied while struggling, "because it was your idea to let her stay with us in the first place!"

As the group neared the peak of the mountain, Goombara said "we're almost there, guys! Let's go beat Bowser up!" Exhausted, Mario and Luigi didn't reply, but thought about the danger that was ahead of them. Goombara began to jump on Luigi's head, finally forcing him to grab her and place her on Mario's. "Time to trade off!" Luigi said. A few moments later, the brothers reached up and grabbed the last ledge that brought them, finally, to the very top of the mountain.

Upon pulling themselves up, they took a breather and looked down at the mountain they just climbed. It was so high up that clouds could be seen from above. "We… made it," said Mario. They turned around to find Bowser's castle directly in front of them. It was much bigger than it looked below, and had menacing spikes with a dark ominous look to it. Determined to put an end to it all, Mario spared no time and ran to the giant front doors, leaving Luigi and Goombara to tail behind.

When Luigi finally caught up to Mario, he had already gone inside. Bowser's foyer was bigger than that of the other castle, and only had one straight hall that only led to darkness. Luigi shook as Mario continued on ahead of him. "M-M-Mario?" Luigi tried to get him to stop for a minute but Mario continued on. Goombara commented, "Mister Mario really likes the princess, doesn't he?" Luigi watched his brother from behind as he ran down the dark hallway. He answered back, "it seems that way, doesn't it?"

At the end of the hallway was another giant door. Mario quickly pushed it open to reveal another large hall full of giant spiked stones suspended much like the question mark blocks. They floated in a row leading to the next door. Mario walked forward with Luigi lagging behind, panting all the while. They all stopped before proceeding underneath the stones. Mario examined them, then Goombara made a statement. "I don't like Thwomps, they're scary! They'll squish you if you walk under them!" For the first time since she arrived Mario was glad Goombara was there.

"Goombara," Mario said. "How do we get past these?" Goombara said, "you just have to run!" It wasn't the most reassuring thing to hear, but what else could they do? Without saying a word, Mario got a running start then quickly dashed underneath the Thwomps. Each one he passed under formed a very angry-looking face and immediately fell to the concrete below. He kept running and finally reached the end, then the Thwomps each rose back up to their original position. Luigi could only stand in one spot with his knees trembling.

"Come on, Luigi!" Mario yelled from the far end of the hall. "Just keep running, that's all!" Luigi kept hesitating, then, to give him some incentive, Goombara jumped on top of his head. He gathered his courage, shut his eyes and ran forward blindly. The Thwomps fell the same way as Luigi passed under them the same as Mario did. He reached the end faster than his brother, and bumped into him, knocking him over from his lack of vision. They got up then quickly exited the room.

The next area was just a giant square room. No other doors, only a big concrete waste of space. Mario looked around to find a way out, but only saw a big circular hole in the ceiling. "How are we supposed to get up there?" Luigi asked. Mario just stared with a look of determination. With all of them lacking any ability to fly, it was going to be nearly impossible to reach the top, no matter how much Mario tried. However, after looking behind them, Luigi noticed something that was a bit out of the ordinary. "Where is that door we came through?" They all looked around, the way they came in had completely disappeared.

Luigi began to tremble in fear. But it was nothing compared to the fear he felt when a flash of light emerged in the center of the room. In a puff of black smoke appeared Kammy Koopa who cackled happily while floating high in the room. "So," Kammy started. "Lord Bowser was correct when he said the plumbers would come to try and save her. How noble."

"Where is Peach?" Mario yelled. Kammy smirked. "My, my, it seems everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom has such foul manners. You're nearly as bad as that sniveling brat you call a princess." Mario gained a furious look on his face and quickly ran toward Kammy and tried to jump toward her. However, he was quickly stopped as she pointed her scepter at him and trapped him inside a strange, glowing bubble. She then pointed at Luigi, who still had Goombara on his head, and trapped them the same way as Mario.

Kammy cackled again as she waved her scepter high in the air. "The king will be so pleased to have you!" With a swift wave, she transported the group, including herself, to Bowser's throne room. As Bowser sat patiently, he sat up as the flash of light appeared before him. He was pleased at the sight of the brothers trapped before him and started to laugh uncontrollably. "Well done, Kammy," Bowser smiled evilly.

Bowser stood up and walked over to the group as they were encapsulated. He looked up as Mario stared into his eyes with hatred. "I'm so very glad you could join me here today, Mario" Bowser said. "I see you've even brought company to liven things up." Mario pounded on the bubble, "let her go, Bowser!" Bowser just smiled and said, "the princess? Of course! I no longer need her now that I have you here". He raised his arm up, signifying to Kammy. She waved her scepter again and within seconds Peach appeared in the room.

Once Peach realized where she was, she turned to the gang and yelled happily, "Mario! Luigi! I knew you would come!" Goombara jumped on Luigi's head yelling, "I came too, Princess Peach!" Bowser cut the reunion short by saying to Peach, "remember our little deal?" Peach hung her head as she remembered. She looked up at the brothers and hesitated to speak.

"Mario… Luigi… Thank you for coming to help me. I am eternally grateful to you… But I'm afraid I can't come back with you." Mario jumped, "Peach, no!" Peach began to have tears run down her cheeks. "If you fight he's going to destroy my kingdom. I'm so sorry you had to come all this way, but I need to stay here so my people don't have to die." With those words, her tears began to flow steadily. Bowser turned around to go back to his throne as he put his hand on Peach's back to lead her there with him. She turned around and mouthed the words, "I'm so sorry".

Mario struggled to try to break out of the tiny prison, but it was no use. There was no point in trying anymore. They watched as Peach walked with Bowser, and for once felt that all hope was now completely gone. The kingdom had nobody left to rely on, and Bowser's secret plot was apparently going as he wished. The brothers could only imagine what he was really up to, but they wouldn't have to wonder for too long. Everything was going to come to an end… whether they liked it or not.

**Author's Note: Happy (Belated) 4th of July everybody! I meant to get this chapter out yesterday but got caught up in the fireworks, and the visitors, and the Jell-O pudding pops. To make up for the lack of time working on this yesterday, I made this part a little longer to satisfy everyone's hunger until the next one. I'm also still very happy to see all the positive feedback I've been recieving. It really makes writing worthwhile when you know someone is looking forward to what you're going to do next. So once again I'd like to thank everyone who's read the story so far. And if you think things seem a little bleak right now maybe I'll give a little hint about the next... NAH! You'll just have to wait till part 6! Later!**


	6. Part 6: Turning the Tides

**As Mario and Luigi made their way to Bowser's stronghold, they were surprised to find Goombara had stowed away in Luigi's backpack. Now they had another person to be concerned about, yet had no choice but to take her along. Upon reaching the castle, Mario rushed inside, passing by all obstacles thanks to Goombara's knowledge of the kingdom's inhabitants. However, things took a turn in a bad way when Kammy Koopa found the gang and encased them in magic bubbles to bring to Bowser. To make matters worse, Bowser had convinced Peach to have Mario not interfere with his plans by theatening to destroy her entire kingdom. Things had never looked darker for the plumbers as they faced an impossible situation. Was there truly no hope? **

Part 6: Turning the Tides

A terrible storm began to brew in the Mushroom Kingdom. It seemed appropriate as a bad situation turned worse in seconds flat. Mario stared as Bowser sat on his throne, quite proud of the way his plan worked out. However, the focus of it was still a mystery. Peach stood next to Bowser with tears still rolling down her face, unable to do anything to help her friends. The room was silent other than the sound of Peach's quiet sobbing.

Bowser yelled over to Kammy Koopa who still had control over the bubbled that held the rescue party. "Take the other two to the dungeon, but leave Mario here!" With yet another wave from her scepter and a puff of smoke, Luigi and Goombara vanished into thin air, leaving Mario alone. Bowser grinned and continued, "now, Kammy, if you'd be kind enough to leave me and the plumber to discuss business". Kammy immediately took her leave by walking to the door, and upon exiting the room, waved her scepter and the bubble surrounding Mario disappeared.

As Kammy left the room, Mario fell toward the floor and dropped to one knee from the force of the fall. Bowser laughed, "now, now, no need to bow before me". Mario got up and just glared at the evil king. "Bowser!" Mario yelled. "I've had enough of this! What do you need with me, or any of us for that matter?" Bowser rose up from his throne, turned his back to Mario and put his hands behind his back. He sighed heavily, then began walking toward Mario slowly. "For years I've wanted to rule this kingdom… I've wanted to rule over all of this land and it's people, but faced rejection at every turn!"

As Bowser got closer to Mario, his expression got colder. "Now that I have an opportunity I'm interested in so much more." Mario and Peach looked at each other confusedly. "Mario," Bowser said. "You're looking for a Power Star, aren't you? Because you wish to return home, right?" With that, Bowser held his hand up and in it was a bright, gold, glowing star. "I have to admit, I envy you," Bowser continued. "I've always wished I could go to another world, and yet here you are in mine. Unfortunately for me, being from this world, even the power of the stars have no affect on transporting anyone from this kingdom to your world." Bowser finally reached Mario and bent over to get right in his face. He smiled and said, "such a pity I never had someone from the other world to use to open the portal… Until now".

Mario and Peach both jumped as they realized now what Bowser's true intentions were. Mario nearly took a punch to Bowser's face but the Koopa king backed off in time. Peach yelled over to Mario, "please don't fight, Mario!" It took all of his power to resist trying to stop Bowser, but hearing the princesses' plea, he had to agree. Peach hung her head and put her hands together, hoping for a miracle.

Bowser wasted no more time and picked Mario up by his overalls. Mario just hung there, limp, and stayed true to Peach's wishes against his own will. Bowser then took the Power Star in his other hand and held them both up above his head and said, "I knew when I saw your blood that you weren't from this world!" Peach began to run over to Bowser and yell, "please, don't do this!" But Bowser refused to listen. Now that he had Mario he wasn't about to waste his chance to open the portal to the other world.

Peach stopped behind Bowser and saw Mario hanging in his hand. She wanted to do something to help him, but got sidetracked by the swirling vortex that began to appear before Bowser. Mario looked up as the portal started to open and saw New York City on the other side. Peach started to shake, trying to think of something to stop this. She did the only thing she could, and jumped on the back of Bowser's shell. She climbed up his spikes until she reached the back of his head. Bowser felt her crawling around and began to shake to try and get her off without dropping Mario or the Power Star.

Peach yelled to Mario while being tossed about on Bowser's back. "Mario! Forget what I said! We can't let him do this, you've done too much for me to let this happen to your world!" With that vote of confidence, Mario quickly broke free of Bowser's clutch and dropped to the floor. The portal began to slowly disappear and Bowser screamed, "NO!" He spun around as Peach held on, but she was quickly flung from his back and hit the floor headfirst, knocking her out cold.

Mario turned around to see Peach unconscious on the floor, and his rage began to build. He tried to run over to her but a swipe from Bowser's tail pushed him back. "I've waited too long for this, damn you!" Bowser said furiously. He tried to grab Mario but couldn't catch him as he kept jumping around. Bowser began to chase Mario around, which gave Mario no choice but to run down the hallway to try and avoid capture.

As Bowser tailed him, Mario ran down a flight of stairs to another part of the castle As luck would have it, he came across the cell that Luigi and Goombara we in, but couldn't stop as Bowser was right behind him. Luigi saw Mario run past the cell and tried to yell to him, but then noticed Bowser chasing him. "Mister Mario!" Goombara yelled. Mario knew he had to save the two before they could leave, so he did the only thing he could think of. With Bowser directly behind him, Mario stopped and his feet skid across the cement. He then pushed his center of gravity away from him, and with that managed to do a complete back flip over Bowser.

As Bowser struggled to stop, his hefty weight made it difficult in the narrow hallway, which gave Mario enough time to run over to try and free Luigi and Goombara. He reached the cell, and tried to punch the lock, but it was no use. Then, with an odd stroke of luck, Goombara jumped up and said, "I just remembered!" She jumped into Luigi's backpack and popped out with a mushroom, then quickly threw it over to Mario. Nothing had to be said, and Mario quickly ate the mushroom as Bowser began to approach them again.

"Hurry, Mario!" Luigi exclaimed. As Bowser got closer and closer, Mario geared up and took one big punch and smashed the lock off the cell, freeing the trapped hostages. Luigi and Goombara quickly ran, but Mario stayed in place. They didn't look back, and hadn't noticed Mario not running with them. Bowser bolted toward Mario, sure he was going to get him once and for all. But then, right as Bowser approached, Mario jumped up into the air and did a swift kick toward Bowser's face. The kick landed dead on, and the force was so tremendous it sent Bowser rolling down the hall to the very end of it. Mario waited for a second, but Bowser didn't get up, so he made a run for it.

The three went back to get the unconscious Peach, but as they arrived they saw Kammy waving her wand above her. Mario didn't stop to see what Kammy was up to and ran straight toward her. He jumped up and landed on top of her, forcing her to drop her scepter which Luigi quickly grabbed. Kammy ran toward Luigi, but he thought fast and tossed it over her head to Mario. Kammy turned and tried to run back over to Mario, but stopped after she noticed he getting ready to break her only source of power in half.

She pleaded to Mario, "I beg of you! I'm nothing without that scepter!" She dropped to her knees and begged. Mario watched as a once powerful sorceress had been stripped of her power in mere seconds. Kammy continued pleading, but Mario looked past her to see Peach still laying on the floor. "You think you deserve to have this back after what you've done to the princess?" Mario asked her. Kammy said apologetically, "I'm so sorry! I promise I'll put an end to this if you just return it to me!" He could see the sincerity in her eyes, and realized by taking her power he was no better than Bowser. He walked toward her to return her scepter.

As Mario was about to give Kammy back her power, the scene was broken as Bowser crashed into the room in a furious rage. He lunged toward Mario and swiped at him before he could get away. Mario flew back and Kammy's scepter was thrown high into the air. She yelled for someone to try and catch it as it flew. Luigi tried, but it flew to far from him and was out of his reach. Bowser was too caught up with Mario to notice and the scepter came crashing down quickly. Kammy yelled, "KING BOWSER!" As she saw the last glimpse of her wand hit the cement and shatter into pieces.

Bowser stopped at the sound of Kammy's screams and saw the pieces all over the floor. He turned toward Kammy who was now completely frozen in shock. She fell to her knees, then turned to Bowser. With the last ounce of strength she had left she said to Bowser, "How… could you?" And after her last word, Kammy's body turned to dust before Bowser's eyes and spread across the floor.

The life choice Bowser had made affected his emotions his entire life. But for the first time ever, as he walked to the remaining ashes, he felt his heart break in half. He kneeled over the dust and a single tear rolled down his cheek. He was so caught up in his plan he didn't even notice his trusted friend begging for her life. Bowser stood up expecting to see everyone still there, but to his surprise he was left all alone. Unable to stay upset for long, his rage built up again as he saw the princess was gone too.

Mario and Luigi ran as fast as they could as Mario held the princess in his arms. The mushroom Goombara had given him made it possible for him to withstand Bowser's blow without taking any damage. Luigi exclaimed while panting, "we gotta get out of here before he catches up to us again!" Mario nodded his head and they ran faster toward the exit of the castle. Once they were out, it was just a matter of getting down the mountain. Goombara jumped happily and said "lookie!" while gesturing toward Bowser's giant airship. The group quickly boarded while Luigi struggled to get it to work. "What buttons do I press?"

"Just try all of them, quick!" Mario shouted.

After pressing every available button, the engines started to run and the ship began to ascend. As they gained altitude, they saw Bowser down below as he ran out of his castle. They were too high up for him to reach now, and he looked upon them angrily. As they sped off in the airship, Mario and Luigi gave each other another high five for a job well done. But down below, Bowser still had his once last shot. He pulled out the remote control and said, "try ruling over your kingdom once it's decimated, princess!" He pushed one of the buttons as he saw the airship fly into the clouds out of sight.

As the group flew off to return to the Mushroom Kingdom, they suddenly got silent at the sound of a slight rumbling coming from the ground. "What's that noise?" Mario wondered. They all looked at each other, then Goombara gestured down at the kingdom below and yelled, "look!" Below them, began a series of small explosions which led to them growing bigger and bigger. The entire kingdom lit up as the explosions grew into one cataclysmic cloud that began to rise up. "MOMMY! DADDY!" Goombara screamed.

Luigi tried to make the ship gain altitude but it refused to go up. With that, they watched as Peach's castle began to shake, then a large explosion destroyed it from the inside, crumbling it to pieces. Mario and Luigi both screamed as they remembered Toadsworth, Toad and the rest of the kingdom down in the explosion. The cloud got closer and closer to the ship but Luigi couldn't do anything about it. Mario said, "everybody hold on! It doesn't look like we're gonna be getting away from that thing!"

The explosion quickly reach the bottom of the airship and immediately damaged it. It now had an enormous hole and Luigi struggled to stay in control of it. It was now impossible to handle and the ship began to spin out. They fell toward the ground far from the site of the former Mushroom Kingdom and watched firsthand as the last of the cloud dispersed and left only rubble. With nothing but sand below, the ship was about to crash. Everyone grabbed on to something as they hit the ground with a force so great the foundation of the ship was torn to pieces.

Bowser looked down the carnage he caused, but didn't laugh, or even make an expression. He only watched. Even he didn't want it to end the way it did. The kingdom was now just a giant crater. All of the houses… gone. The castle… gone. He also couldn't see any sign of his airship in sight. His last resort turned out to be far worse than he expected. He was silent for a short time, then slowly turned away from the wreckage. Bowser then entered his castle… the one and only remaining piece of the Mushroom Kingdom.

**Author's Note: I've got some good news and bad news. The good news? Well you kinda just read it! The bad news? I may not get a chance to continue part 7 for a few days. I know things are at a bit of a cliffhanger right now but I promise I'll get it out as soon as possible. Other than that, enjoying the story? I know, i know, one bad thing leads to another, right? Well you'll be happy to know that things couldn't possibly get any worse, so you know what that means? ...Seriously, I have no idea, I was actually asking... KIDDING! Anyway, keep up the great reviews and I'll keep writing to try and live up to them. Peace!**


	7. Part 7: It's Not Over Yet!

**After being captured by Bowser, and having Luigi and Goombara put into the dungeon, Mario and Peach were horrified to find out Bowser's true intentions. It turned out that nobody from the Mushroom Kingdom was capable of traveling between worlds, even with a Power Star. The only possible way was to have someone from that world nearby to open the portal… and that person was Mario. Unable to fight as a promise to Peach to save her people, Mario allowed Bowser to open the portal, but he was quickly thwarted as Peach knew how it would affect Mario's world in the process. After an enraged Bowser knocked Peach unconscious, Mario managed to free his brother and Goombara thanks to a mushroom she had packed away, which led to a series of events resulting in the accidental demise of Kammy Koopa at the hands of Bowser. With the group escaping in Bowser's airship, Bowser went through with his original plan of destroying the Mushroom Kingdom which came as a shock to everyone. Caught in the blast, the ship crash landed, leaving the former kingdom in ruins and landing the gang in the desert. Was it really all over?**

Part 7: It's Not Over Yet!

It was the most grim scene the Mushroom Kingdom ever experienced. From atop the mountain where Bowser's castle stood, only a giant smoldering crater could be seen. Within a flash, a once proud kingdom was now completely devoid of all life. To make matters worse, the princess and her rescuers had crash-landed in the desert with no method of transportation left.

Mario awakened in a daze, still inside the cockpit of Bowser's destroyed airship. He looked around to see Luigi, Peach, and Goombara who were all still unconscious from the crash. He immediately ran over to Peach, but didn't touch her or try to wake her. He only sat there and listened for a sign of life. Luckily he heard her breathing and sighed with relief. He went to Luigi and Goombara, and thankfully they were alive as well. It was the only good thing to come of the situation.

As Mario waited a bit, they each began to slowly wake up, first Goombara, then Luigi. But Peach was still out cold. The three went over to her and wondered what they should do. "I can't believe he really did it…" Mario said quietly. Luigi was completely silent. Mario hopped up and kicked some of the rubble from the ship in anger. "Damn him! What was he hoping to get out of this?" Luigi responded, "he's just full of hate and resentment. He must be lonely up there too".

"Lonely?" Mario asked surprised. "You think loneliness is even on that monsters mind, Luigi?"

"Everyone gets lonely now and again."

"He's not lonely, Luigi, he's just a sadistic psychopath who kills everyone that doesn't give him his way! Lonely people find friends, they don't kill them!" Luigi jumped at his brothers rage toward him and quietly withdrew, "okay, Mario".

Peach began to awaken over the sound of Mario yelling. They all gathered around her to see how she was doing, but it wasn't exactly necessary to ask. She sat silently with her legs crossed and her arms folded. Her dress was torn as everyone else's clothing, and her crown was missing. She looked less like a princess and more like a common beggar. Nobody said a word, until Goombara waddles over to Peach and jumped into her lap. They stared into each other's eyes and Goombara said, "is everyone in the kingdom gone? Even mommy and daddy?" Peaches eyes began to well up again, "I'm sorry, sweetheart… I really don't know". Peach held Goombara closely as they both began to cry.

Night began to fall over the desert and they all started to get hungry. Unfortunately, Luigi's backpack full of food was lost along the way so they were out of luck. They knew they couldn't stay in the ship forever, so the only thing they could do was make their way back to the Mushroom Kingdom to try and find survivors. As they walked along the sands, Peach stared vacantly at the ground. Luigi walked next to her and said, "I know it's hard, but remember it's not your fault that this happened". She smiled a tiny bit, then continued to stare. He continued to try and cheer her up, making things up for the moment. "I'm sure everything is going to be okay. Just try to be positive!" Peach didn't respond at all.

As Peach walked behind the rest of the group, Luigi went up to Mario to question what they should do. "Mario, I know we can't just sit around and wait here, but where are we heading? Everything looks the same around here!" Mario replied while heavily panting, "call me crazy, but as we were falling I could have sworn I saw those funny blocks around here". Luigi looked puzzled, "what good are blocks gonna do us?"

"If we're lucky they'll have a mushroom or two we can share so we won't all starve to death."

Everyone journeyed on, but began to feel fatigue setting in from the lack of food. It was now to the point where they could only crawl to get any further. Then soon after they couldn't even move and they all collapsed from exhaustion. They could only just lay on the sand, panting and hoping for a miracle. With miracles seeming to be in short supply, it appeared as though they were finished. But with a stroke of luck, Goombara looked up and in the distance was a row of four blocks, just as Mario had thought! "You were right, Mister Mario!" Goombara jumped happily.

They all laughed as a second wind of relief flowed over them. They gathered their strength and made their way toward the blocks. "Oh, thank goodness!" Peach said, finally showing some of her old emotion. Luigi said, "let's just pray there's a mushroom in at least one of these blocks!" Mario punched the first one, but no luck. The second and third also had nothing. With their faint hope dying, Mario held his breath and hit the final block. This block had something, but it wasn't what they were expecting. Instead of a mushroom, a strange egg popped out with green spots all over it.

"Well," Mario began, "it ain't a mushroom." He picked it up and inspected it. "Maybe it's still edible!" Luigi shouted. Peach looked suspiciously at the egg and said to herself, "where have I seen that before?" Mario spared no time and insisted they eat it. "All I know is that in our world we eat eggs! Besides, it's big enough for us to share!" He got ready to crack it open over a rock, but was stopped by the sound of the princess yelling "wait, Mario!" She ran over and grabbed the egg from his hand. "We can't eat this egg!"

"Why not?" Mario asked. She held it up, "because this is a Yoshi egg!"

Mario and Luigi looked at each other. "So I guess Yoshi is the word for chicken in this place?" Luigi joked. Goombara tried to get a closer look. "That's a Yoshi egg, Princess Peach?" Peach nodded and said, "mm hmm!" Mario chimed in, "so if we can't eat that then what are we gonna do about food?" Peach looked calm for the first time since the crash. She explained, "if we found this egg in the middle of the desert there must be other Yoshi here!" She smiled. "Where Yoshi roam, you're sure to find plenty of fruit!" Everyone else jumped at the sound of the word. Peach said happily, "and the good news is it should be hatching any second now!" Her knowledge of Yoshi was spot on, and the egg began to shake right in her hand. She put it down in the sand and everyone circled around it. Within seconds the egg cracked and the top flew off, exposing a creature Mario and Luigi never expected. "A Yoshi is a dinosaur?" Mario shouted.

The Yoshi emerged from it's shell, and immediately grew twice as large as the egg was. It was green, as indicated by the spots on the egg, and had a strange shell-like hump on it's back that seemed almost like a saddle. The most off feature was the fact that it was born wearing shoes. Peach went over to it and petted it on it's somewhat large, bulbous nose. "I used to go on Yoshi rides all the time when I was a little girl," Peach said. "They are the most gentle creatures in our world. And this one should lead us right to his family."

The Yoshi looked around until he spotted Goombara and jumped wildly. It began to yell out, "Yoshi! Yoshi!" Then, as a surprise to everyone, a long tongue extended from his mouth and tried to latch onto her. She jumped out of the way quickly and Peach grabbed her. "I'm sorry Goombara," Peach said. "I forgot to mention that Yoshi eat other things than fruit. Never people, but sometimes Goombas and Koopas."

After a few seconds, the Yoshi gave up trying to eat Goombara and immediately ran off to be with his family. The rest of the group knew all they had to do now was follow him, so they all ran behind him. Surprisingly, not far away was a small spring surrounded by trees and had fresh water. There they saw a group of the playful dinosaurs as the green one joined them. There were a multitude of different colored Yoshi, like red, blue, and even yellow. In the trees was the fresh fruit the princess had promised, and they all spared no time in helping themselves.

"This is great!" Luigi said. "So many different kinds of fruit. I'm glad we came across that egg instead of a mushroom!" After filling up on the fruit, Mario, Luigi, Peach and Goombara decided to rest until the morning. The Yoshi all huddled up in a small group and slept alongside the others. It was nice for them to finally have a bit of peace after going through what they experienced. Though they all had trouble getting to sleep from the thought of it. But it was something they would have to deal with the next day.

The sun began to rise and the playful scampering of the Yoshi woke everyone up. They were definitely a spirited group. Mario immediately asked Peach, "so where do we go now?" She could see the determination in his eyes. "I need to return to my kingdom, Mario." Mario nodded, "I know, but which way is it?" She smiled and said, "you'll be happy to know your Yoshi discovery will be even more useful! These little guys have a great sense of direction. If there's any life left out there, they'll lead us to it!" Mario and Luigi both jumped up and Luigi said, "we better get going then!"

They got ready to leave the spring when Mario asked, "so how does this work?" Peach explained, "one of us will have to ride a Yoshi to let it know we need to find something. It should automatically know to take us to the next place with any signs of life… Hopefully the Mushroom Kingdom is one of those places". They each looked around, trying to pick a Yoshi to take, when suddenly, the green one Mario had found began to rub up against Peach's arm. "I guess we know who's coming with us!" Peach laughed.

Mario and Luigi agreed that the princess should ride the Yoshi, seeing as how she had experience and shouldn't be walking in the intense heat. Goombara took a seat in her lap. Peach held onto the "saddle" and said, "Yoshi, please try to find the Mushroom Kingdom". Luigi laughed, "you really think that thing is gonna understand you, Princess?" Luigi was quickly silenced by Yoshi taking off at lightning speed. Mario mocked him, "shut you up, didn't it?"

As the two brothers followed Yoshi, Peach prayed that her people were safe. She thought that with a small ray of hope that there would be survivors. She imagined how horrible it must have been for everyone, knowing it was all going to be over in just seconds. The thought of Bowser sitting smugly in his castle made her furious, but she kept her cool. The only question left on everyone's mind now was, once they returned… how were they going to resolve this?

**Author's Note: I'm so damn-ass-frickin' sorry to everyone who waited patiently for this part of the story. Lately I've had a lot going on and you know how life throws you those curveballs. Besides that, I've had a mild case of writer's block and didn't feel like writing ANYTHING just to get this out quicker. That being said, I can't say I'm 100 satisfied with the way this part turned out. I can't say I gave myself a lot to work with, considering the whole "desert" thing I had going on. I will say this, though, I PROMISE IT'S ALL BUILDING UP TO SOMETHING YOU'RE ALL GONNA LOVE!! You have my word, I won't be disappointing anyone with this ending (which by the way is still a ways off). So I hope you still enjoyed what I have for you here, and look forward to part 8 VERY SOON!**


	8. Part 8: Precious Time

**After crash-landing in the middle of a vast desert in Bowser's airship, all the gang could picture was the horrible explosion that decimated the Mushroom Kingdom. Now hungry and exhausted, they made their way through the sands to try and find food. Mario had recalled seeing the strange blocks as they fell from the sky and decided they should search for them in hopes of finding a mushroom to share. He was right about the blocks, but instead of a mushroom, out popped a white and green Yoshi egg. Princess Peach thought back on her experiences with Yoshi as a child and once the egg hatched, they followed the dinosaur to his family and a spring with fresh fruit. After getting some rest, they decided to leave the next morning, only to find that the Yoshi they found was more than happy to aid them back home. With a newfound friend with a great sense of direction, they made their way back into the desert to try and reach the kingdom. **

Part 8: Precious Time

The desert winds blew as the gang made their way back to what they hoped was the Mushroom Kingdom. Thanks to the aid of the helpful Yoshi, and some prior knowledge on Peach's part, they now had a chance of returning. As bad situations usually got worse for them, they took solace in knowing that as long as they were still alive, things couldn't be worse than they already were.

As Peach and Goombara rode on Yoshi's back, Mario and Luigi ran alongside of them. Traversing through the desert was a lot less stressful knowing they had a destination, but still quite tiring. Luigi began to pant, "it didn't feel like we fell this far from the kingdom". Peach turned to Luigi, "we probably made it worse by walking around without knowing where to go". The good thing was that Yoshi seemed to know where he was going. They all continued forth, still concerned for everyone who was caught in the blast.

Some time later, everyone was feeling exhausted from the heat again. "Who would have thought the desert would be so hot?" Mario exclaimed. Yoshi began to run faster, as if to pressure Mario and Luigi to keep up. "Nice job, Mario!" Luigi yelled. "Now he's toying with us!" But to there surprise, they began to see less and less sand, and more green grass. Peach said happily, "I think we may be getting close". And the princess, as usual, was correct. A little further up, they came to the edge of a lush green field which, as they saw, was the top of a large cliff.

Yoshi walked to the edge of the cliff with Peach still on her back, and she was horrified at the sight at the bottom of it. Goombara jumped on Yoshi's head, then Mario and Luigi ran over to them. This being the first time seeing it, they were shocked to see there was nothing more to the Mushroom Kingdom than rubble. A thick fog still emanated over the remains, as if an ominous signal telling it's story. Peach could only hold her hand over her mouth in awe.

Mario looked at the grim sight with deep thought. He remembered when they first arrived, the only thing on his mind was returning home. Now that things played out this way, Brooklyn was the last thing he was thinking about. He got down on one knee and lowered his head, partially out of respect, but also from a lack of words.

Peach dismounted Yoshi and put Goombara down on the ground. Goombara waddled to the edge and peered over to see where her home used to be. She then looked further to see what was left of the castle. Peach was the first to break the silence by saying, "we need to get down there!" Everyone looked at her. "We have to find a way down so we can see if anyone is still alive!" The cliff was steep, but it was possible to slide down. They didn't like it, but they had to no other choice.

Luigi backed up from the edge and shivered. "Y-ya know, I bet there's an easier way to get down there." Mario grabbed his brother's arm and pulled him closer. Luigi hesitated, but Mario wouldn't let go. "I bet you're right Luigi," Mario said. "But we don't have time to look for another way." Peach hopped back on Yoshi and Goombara jumped back in her lap. She turned to the brother and said, "are you ready?" Mario nodded, "ready!" Luigi strained, "I'm not!" But before he could manage any more words, Yoshi jumped off the cliff and began to run down it. Mario jumped off too, still holding his frightened brother's arm, and they both slid down.

The gang got halfway down before Mario let Luigi go. Yoshi had no problem running, but Mario and Luigi had to keep their balance as the traction on their shoes made it difficult to slide with all the rocks in the dirt. Nearing the bottom, Luigi began to lose control and fell forward. He landed face down into the dirt, then did a forward flip and continued rolling down head to feet. Yoshi finally reached the bottom, followed by Mario. Luigi, however, rolled slowly down until he reached the ground covered in dirt.

Mario helped Luigi up and brushed off the dirt from his overalls. They were now in the ruins of the kingdom, and it was even more disturbing up close. Peach got a lump in her throat as they walked toward where the castle used to be, only to see wood and debris everywhere they went. All the houses, trees, and creatures were gone. Luigi said, "I don't know if you have hurricanes here, Princess. But in our world, this is usually how it looks after one". Peach didn't say anything as they neared where Goombara's home used to be.

Goombara quickly jumped off of Yoshi and ran to the remains yelling, "mommy, daddy, I'm back!" Being so young, she knew of death, but it was hard to comprehend. The rest looked on, unable to speak as Goombara tried to find her family. She kept yelling, "we brought back Princess Peach! Please come out!" Peach hopped off of Yoshi and walked over to Goombara. The tiny Goomba turned and looked up at Peach as she got down on her knees. "Sweetie," Peach said solemnly, "I don't think they're here." Goombara stared at the ground as she walked back to Yoshi and jumped on his back. She didn't say a word.

Mario tried to break the silence and get everyone's spirits up. "We better head to the castle. I'm sure there must be someone there." With heavy hearts, they walked over to the castles gravesite. It was now just a pile of bricks, wood, and dust. Peach called out, "hello? Is anyone still here?" But not a sound was heard. She continued calling for someone, anyone, but still nothing. Mario and Luigi walked over the pile and moved the debris to try and find somebody, but had no luck. As Peach searched, the only thing she found was a piece of paper so badly burned she could only make out the letters "bers".

It was apparent that nobody survived the blast, and once again things seemed hopeless. They sat in a circle where the castle once stood and Mario said, "so that's it?" The rest looked up at him. "We just give up now? That bastard killed all these people and we're just going to sit here and mope?"

"What else can we do, Mario?" Luigi asked. "Face it, Bowser won." Mario couldn't believe how his brother was acting. "Luigi!" Mario yelled. "Do you remember when we had that job with the flooded basement? Remember how nobody else could figure out the problem?" Luigi nodded slowly as Mario went on. "Well this is just another busted pipe for us to fix!"

Mario's speech was rousing, but didn't seem to give anybody the motivation to try anything. He stood up and continued, "we can't give in yet!" As he went on trying to get everyone to snap out of it, he stomped his foot on a piece of broken brick. With great surprise, the brick began to move underneath Mario, making him come to an abrupt stop. He jumped off of it and he and Luigi tried to lift it up. They lifted the block to reveal a badly bruised and injured Toadsworth. He crawled out from the rubble and coughed a few times, as Peach jumped up to give him a hug.

"Toadsworth!" Peach yelled with joy. "I'm so happy you're alive!"

"As am I, Princess. What in the world happened?" Mario began to explain what Bowser had done, and the old man's expression became angry, unusual for him. "Confound that Koopa!" Toadsworth shouted. "I knew we shouldn't have even let that beast into this kingdom in the first place!" Peach tried to calm him down, "listen, Toadsworth, is there anything we can do about this?" He gave a sigh and said, "I'm afraid what's done is done".

Just then, a thought popped into Toadsworth's head and he jumped up. "I can't believe I forgot all about that!" Luigi said, "you have an idea?" Toadsworth laughed, "you give me too little credit, my boy!" With that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box and handed it to the princess. Peach's eyes lit up as she said, "Toadsworth, how did you…?" Toadsworth just smiled and said, "when I heard the blast it was the first thing that popped into my mind". Peach opened the box to reveal her family heirloom, the Power Star. The same as Bowser's, the golden star radiated beautifully with power.

Peach stood up and took the Power Star in her hand. She smiled and said, "thank you so much, Toadsworth". Mario raised his hand up and asked, "this is all well and good, but how can the star help us?" Toadsworth cleared his throat to explain. "These stars are the most powerful things in our world, and can be used for much more than traveling between worlds. They also have the power to heal, and more importantly, to change time!" Mario, Luigi and Goombara jumped when they heard the news. Toadsworth continued, "but the process is not as easy as you may expect". He got up and turned away with his hands behind his back. "In order to open the dimensional rift we would need the power of two stars!" Mario and Luigi looked at each other and got the same idea, "BOWSER!"

Toadsworth tried not to put a damper on the festivities, but concluded by telling them one more disturbing fact. "Master Mario," he went on. "Bowser opened up the portal to your world using his Power Star, correct?" Mario nodded. "I was afraid of that," he sighed. "Once a portal has been fully opened, the star loses all of it's power. I understand you and the princess stopped the portal, but I pray it was done quickly enough where the star's energy wasn't drained." Mario raised his fist and said, "there's only one way to find out!"

It seemed that another glimmer of hope had sparked again. Peach gave Mario her star to hold on to as he and Luigi readied themselves to return to Bowser's castle once more. This time they decided to take Yoshi to save them some time. Things were looking up, but before they left, Toadsworth gave them a piece of advice that was imperative to them: "No matter what the case may be, do not, under ANY circumstances use the stars until you return here with them! If done incorrectly it could be catastrophic, not only for our world… but for yours as well!"

With that, the brother's set off, leaving the princess, Goombara, and Toadsworth behind to give the kingdom one last chance. It was the only way to put things right, and the fate of everyone, including those in their world, rested on the shoulders of Mario and Luigi. As they both rode on Yoshi's back toward the castle, the others prayed they make it there and back safely. The time to finish what was started was closer than they though, and they had no intention on letting everyone down.

**Author's Note: Told ya to expect the next part soon.! I figured I owed you guys that much, seeing as how it took so long for me to upload the last part. I feel like I'm getting back on track as far as the plot goes, and the writer's block seems to be melting away (thank God!) In fact, if I have time, I'll try to get another part out by tonight. I'm not promising anything, but I'm gonna try. I hope everyone is still enjoying the story so far, and I can't wait to finally be able to get the ending (that I've been dying to write) on here for everyone to see. But we're not quite there yet, so be patient! Hope everyone had a great weekend! Later!**


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